Department of Health and Social Care

Sex: Females

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to ban virginity testing in the UK.

Ms Nadine Dorries: We are committed to safeguarding vulnerable women and girls. The World Health Organization (WHO) is clear that virginity testing is a violation of the victim’s human rights and can have an adverse impact on their physical, psychological and social wellbeing. The WHO also state that such tests have no scientific merit or clinical indication. The General Medical Council advise that doctors are not required to provide intimate examinations that they have assessed as not clinically appropriate. If the examination is for a child or young person, doctors must assess their capacity to consent to the examination and must promptly raise concerns with an appropriate authority if they think a child or young person is at risk of or suffering abuse.

Coronavirus: Clinics

Dean Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress has been made on the roll out of long covid clinics.

Ms Nadine Dorries: NHS England and NHS Improvement have provided £10 million to fund over 40 pioneering specialist clinics for people suffering from the long-term effects of COVID-19. The plans for these clinics were published on 15 November and guidance was made available on 6 November.NHS England and NHS Improvement committed to ensuring post COVID-19 assessment clinics will be available from early December 2020. In response, each integrated care system is working towards the provision of at least one such service.A number of these clinics are already established and have started to accept patients. More information about the clinic locations and how to access them will be released in the near future.

Pectus Excavatum: Surgery

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will allocate funding to the NHS to invest in Pectus Excavatum treatment.

Ms Nadine Dorries: NHS England and NHS Improvement are required to commission specialised services that are often expensive, rare or commissioned on too big a footprint for individual clinical commissioning groups to commission.Pectus Excavatum treatment is an example of a specialised service and therefore the responsibility of NHS England and NHS Improvement. commissioning policy for surgery for pectus deformity, dated February 2019, is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/surgery-for-pectus-deformity-all-ages/

Cabinet Office

Medical Equipment

Stephen Farry: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Draft unilateral declarations by the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee on human and veterinary medicines cover medical devices.

Penny Mordaunt: The Unilateral Declaration on Medicines (available on gov.uk) allows for the phased implementation in Northern Ireland of relevant medicines regulation, and in particular the Falsified Medicines Directive. Medical devices are not subject to the Falsified Medicines Directive and are not in scope of the declaration. Businesses and authorities moving medical devices can make use of the Trade Support Service and the UK Trader Scheme. Full guidance on the regulatory requirements for medical devices are set out on gov.uk. Medical devices will be able to be moved smoothly between Great Britain and Northern Ireland from 1 January 2021.